08/14/2026
WE WON! Riverworks Financial Clinic is the 2026 MANDI Associated Bank Trailblazer Award recipient!
As Director of the Riverworks Financial Clinic, this morning, I’m still reflecting on what an incredible honor this is. Not simply because we received an award, but because of what this award represents and the people who made this work possible.
Our Life & Legacy Planning Workshop Series started with a conversation.
I was sitting at a Greater Milwaukee Foundation event with longtime Halyard Park homeowners participating in our Milwaukee United Anti-Displacement program. I asked them:
“You’ve worked so hard to stay in your homes all these years. What are your legacy plans to make sure those homes remain in your families?”
Their answer was essentially:
“We don’t have one. You guys need to help us with that.”
And when a table of your elders tells you, “You guys need to help us with that,” you quickly realize, this was not a suggestion. 😄
So we got to work.
And by “we,” I should clarify that I mostly mean Truth Freemyn got to work, and I enthusiastically supported her getting to work!
Truth became the point person and driving force behind these workshops, and I want to give her a very special congratulations this morning. She took an idea born from listening to our community and helped turn it into something tangible, meaningful, and lasting.
And what happened next was remarkable.
In 2025, 94 people participated in four Life & Legacy Planning Workshops. Sixty-two participants completed 211 legal documents including wills, Transfer on Death deeds, healthcare and financial powers of attorney, living wills, HIPAA authorizations, burial directives and more.
But those aren't just documents.
They're acts of love for people who aren't even in the room yet.
They're a homeowner saying: I worked for this. I sacrificed for this. And when I'm gone, I want my family to keep it.
Our economic impact analysis estimates that this work helped protect $9.3 million to $15.5 million in home equity that can remain with Milwaukee families and transfer to future generations.
That is financial empowerment.
That is anti-displacement.
That is legacy.
None of this happens alone.
Congratulations and THANK YOU to Truth Freemyn and the entire Riverworks Financial Clinic team for the work you do every day.
Thank you to Attorney Jourdan Glenn and our incredible partners at the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee for bringing the legal expertise and commitment that made these workshops possible, and to Take Root Milwaukee and the many partners and volunteers who supported this work.
Thank you to our Executive Director, Darryl Johnson, for his leadership and for fostering an environment at Riverworks where we can listen to our community, try something new, build partnerships and turn good ideas into action.
And thank you to LISC Milwaukee and Associated Bank for recognizing this work with the MANDI Trailblazer Award.
But most of all, this award belongs to the residents who sat at that table and told us what they needed and to every participant who trusted us with something as personal and important as their family's future.
We're incredibly proud of what we've built.
But we're even more proud of what Milwaukee families will now be able to keep.
Congratulations, Team Riverworks. We are MANDI Award winners, once again!
Anthony Myers
Ditector/Riverworks Financial Clinic
City of Milwaukee Finacial Empowerment Center
Milwaukee (Local Initiatives Support Corporation)
